Ombratrak
A nation of Animus, they have slight xenophobic tendancies but a zero percent crime rate. Their city of Ombra'tri is one of the oldest settlements left on Latu, though they haven't changed much in tech over the ages. But change is in the air... History Origins Eleven thousand and fifty six years ago prior to the start marks the beginning of the Ombratrak civilization, when Ombra began to teach the Ombratrak ancestors. Back then the Ombratrak ancestors lived in the ancient city Tiilaa, which was the most advanced village at the time. That said it's claim to fame was its bronze and iron tools, and the fact that the city was surrounded by a series of Glowtowers, though history is unsure of how many encircled Tiilaa. Because of the towers Tiilaa was cast in an endless light, making the city too hot for most crops. Crops had to be grown in tinted rooms, and Mana users had to constantly pump greenhouse gases out of these domes. This meant only that so many crops could survive, and much of the population starved. Violent battles were fought over shade and food, as the elite of the city grew in power, winning total control of the cities defenders through food. However one day Ombra manifested a shadow in the city, one that the glow couldn't hurt. The shadow recoiled from most of the population, but some it let rest. Those it helped were the few Tiilaatorp who seemed redeemable in Ombra's eyes. He looked for people who sought to leave the city, people who wondered about things, people who sought the truth, people who despite there things or perhaps because of them, cared about their fellow Tiilaatorp. Eventually he Revealed himself to them, and explained to them who he was and what everything was. Almost everything he said is forgotten, but there are Six Omb, or Truths, that the Ombratrak never forgot. This went on for seventy five years, and try as they did the elite of Tiilaa couldn't sop him. Finally he asked his Trak if they would leave the city if they could. All of them agreed. Ombra thus guided them away from Tiilaa, and the Trak walked to the far west. Some quit midway, and merged into local kingdoms. The descendants of those Trak and the natives became the Awkwatrak. But the bulk of the Trak continued on, and eventually reached Ombracoom. Over the generations the Tiilaatrop way of life had died out, as a new culture emerged. A culture of shadows and truth, family and advancement. They were the Ombratrak in name, but not yet blood. Ombraii Ten thousand years before the start the first Great Blood was born. Nine thousand seven hundred and sixty four years before the Start was the last time the Ombratrak used Contact Trading. From then on the Ombratrak never interacted with another society until some refugees fled from Silva's border. Four hundred forty eight years after this the Ombratrak stopped distorting stories when they retold them. Start The Ombratrak ran across a group of half-insane refugees fleeing into Ombracoom. The Children of Darkness ultimately decided to let these people stay, in exchange for technology. The Ombratrak got to work replicate the steam engines of the refugees, and a few f them learned some of their tongue. The refugees were left to themselves, as the Ombratrak found them repulsive at an instinctual level. Eventually a city called Tur Dura sent scouts to find allies, with one group reaching Ombracoom. The Children of Darkness reacted with suspicion, and eventually the "invaders" left with neither violence or peace exchanged. However a child was born at this time; the second Great Blood. Though the Children of Darkness felt great joy at the birth of the Great Blood, they still worked to improve their defenses. A year later an Ombratrak called Arooii encountered the Traveler, a time traveler and the last mortal member of The Grench. At first , Aroii was suspicious of the Traveler, who had Regenerated in front of his eyes, changing Aroii's structure in the process. The Traveler was invited to meet with the Ombratrak after he witnessed the Great Blood jump through shadows. Before leaving, the Great Blood named the Traveler "Gwa-Gwa." The Traveler spoke with a makeshift diplomat called Raamii, and a first contact was forged that was much better than that of Tur Dura. But they had little time to relax, as a Tur Dura scout from earlier entered the forest. Raamii and Traveler managed to negotiate, and this time the peace talks didn't completely fall through. While this went on the Branch Master of the Hunting Branch, Hwaee, kept her eyes and weapons on the scout, to attack if he proved hostile. This meeting went much better than the first, and soon a the Branch Masters met to make decisions regarding the changes the Ombratrak faced. The Ombratrak sent a trio of Ombratrak to the meeting at Awkwa'Tri, made up of a tracker, a hunter, and an apprentice researcher. The three of them along with some Turdurains and a few worshipers of Nikrow were teleported into a dark polluted city, which was said to be trying to find a way to destroy Mana, and were almost immediately attacked by a vampire like Mysim. The researcher fought it off, though received a large amount of scars for her efforts. From clues on the corpse the Ombratrak realized that this city was connected to Tiilaa. The researcher was sent back, though under protest. Meanwhile the Ombratrak had been doing well with their kin they had learned of at the meeting, and Ombratrak-Awkwatrak relations were doing well. The Traveler had helped the Ombratrak learn how to make batteries, and they were trying to understand the strange tools. At this point the apprentice returned, and an emergency meeting was called. Biology The Ombratrak have orange skin and black hair across their population. Their color color varies however, from red to green to light blue. There is a small minority called Great Bloods, though only two have ever been seen and their statistics are unknown. Like most Mysims they have a blocky humanoid body, although they are a different thanks to their isolation and their past. They are actually incapable of breeding with outsiders. They all have the ability to use Mana unlike most cities where exceptions exist, and they lack the capacity to harm their fellow Ombratrak. They have no qualms against hurting other nations however, solely those of their species are off limits. They have great night vision, but light can easily blind them. Society The Ombratrak, or the Children of the Darkness, live in a city located to the far south of Túr Dura. The Ombratrak worship the god Ombra, a dark entity with no form understandable to mortals. Ombra is believed to be the guardian of the Link, which invisibly connects all life in a tapestry of conflict and community. For that reason they settled on the dark forest, where all life has a role and light is scarce. The Ombratrak specialize in mostly darkness Mana manipulation, to teleport through the many shadows of their home. This skill also allows them to drain the light and energy from a targetand to manipulate fear. They likewise have the gift to detect lies. Their technology as a whole is low, but recently they have learned of steam engines from refugees fleeing the Silva border. At the moment their steam gliders are handmade solely out of wood and what little copper the Ombratrak can mine, and thus are fairly weak. However their lightweight bodies make them quite agile. The Ombratrak don't give their children names until they reach the age of ten. Until then their name is solely Trak, or Child. At the age of sixteen an Ombratrak is considered an adult, and is thus given full rights in the community. At that time the Ombratrak must decide what it will do in its life, and which branch it will join. Ombratrak society is made up over many branches, of a yet unknown number. Branches act like guilds of a sort, with branches of hunting, researching steam engines, researching individual species, researching medicine, researching Mana, researching ecosystems, fishing, and so on. The branches meet together to decide important issues, like whether or not to help foreigners or to declare war. Each branch has two branch masters; the most skilled of that branch and the least. That way the viewpoints of the exceptionally skilled and the more moderate are included, and the entire Truth is known. Famous Members *Arooii - A common fisher, mate of Hwaee, father of the second Great Blood *Hwaee - Branch Master of the hunters, sees through ecolocation and has no eyesight, mate of Arooii, mother of the second Great Blood *Ombraii - Ancient Ombratrak who dramatically changed Ombratrak society, the first Great Blood *Raamii - An Ombratrak thrust into the role of diplomat after a series of outsiders reached Ombracoom. *Ombee - A twelve year old apprentice researcher, sent by the Awkwatrak on a quest, defeated a vampire in battle but received wicked scars as a result Biome Ombra'Tri is situated on the banks of the river Omatoo, the Dark River. The region around the river is mostly jungle, creating a maze impossible for outsiders to navigate. The jungle is lit by billions of sparkflyers, a small insect like family that use Mana to create light. Aside from the sparkflyers the light of the jungle comes from a nearby Glowtower, though the distance from Omatoo casts the jungle into twilight. The jungle itself is called Ombracoom, and is sacred to the Ombratrak. Category:Sapient Category:Tribes Category:Life After the Grox Category:Nature Category:Mysims Category:Latu Category:Ombratrak